1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lamp assembly in which the electrical components are protected from rain and other forms of precipitation or other forms of moisture by novel mechanical arrangements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional lamp assemblies that might be potentially exposed to some form of precipitation typically are sheltered from direct rain, as when hanging beneath the eave of a roof. Other lamp assemblies are exposed to direct precipitation. The electrical components of such lamps, whether sheltered or exposed directly to weathering elements, are generally sealed with tight-fitting gaskets, snug set-screws, and/or complicated and difficult-to-remove shade and deflection assemblies preventing water from reaching the electrical components.
Drawbacks of such prior art lamp assemblies include: (1) difficulty in access to and changing of the light bulb or other component of the electrical system or shade; (2) difficulty in access to and changing of the gasket, set-screws and/or deflection assemblies; (3) the gasket, set-screws and/or shade and deflection assemblies may fail and allow precipitation to get to the electrical components, causing a short circuit; and (4) the intricate mechanisms used to protect the prior art lamps may be very expensive to replace.
The main object of this invention is to provide a lamp assembly that is protected from precipitation and thereby short-circuiting.
It is another object of this invention to provide the above protection from precipitation and short circuiting while still providing ease of access to the electrical components of the lighting fixture.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a lamp assembly in which the protective assemblies will not fail and allow precipitation to get to the electrical components of the lighting fixture.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a lamp assembly in which the assemblies used to protect the electrical components are inexpensive to replace.
According to this invention, there are three different embodiments of the lamp assemblies that are capable of being exposed to precipitation and other forms of moisture (i.e. rain, sprinkler systems, etc.) and still be protected against a potentiality of short-circuiting. Each of these lamp assemblies are ornamental in nature while incorporating the utilitarian features described herein.
According to the present invention, the first of these embodiments has the appearance of an open bloom flower where the petals of the bloom form the lamp shade. This first lamp assembly is oriented below a horizontal plane such that the opening of the bloom is not exposed to open sky to allow falling precipitation or moisture to enter the shade directly. The electrical components of the lamp are contained inside and recessed within the opening of the shade. The electrical components consist of a socket, a base, and an electrical supply means. The lamp shade is secured to the base using a securing means with an o-ring and this secured connection is covered by a base cap. The base cap and o-ring prevent water from entering the lamp shade at the connection with the base, and the orientation of the entire assembly below the horizontal plane prevents water from entering the open end of the lamp shade.
In the second embodiment, the lamp assembly has the appearance of a closed flower bud on a nearly vertical stem where the lamp shade is formed from the petals of the closed flower bud. The electrical components of the lamp are contained inside the lamp shade. The electrical components consist of a socket, a base, and an electrical supply means. The lamp shade rests in a base cap and is easily removed from the same for access to the electrical components. In one construction of this embodiment, the socket and base of the electrical components are arranged in the fixture such that the top of both the socket and the base rise above the top edge of the base cap. An alternate construction has the socket and base recessed within the distal edge of the base cap. The arrangement of the socket and base rising above the top edge of the base cap allows for accumulated precipitation to run-over the edge of the base cap before reaching the level of the base or socket.
In the third embodiment, the lamp assembly has the appearance of a partially open flower bud on a nearly vertical stem where the lamp shade is formed from the petals of the flower bud. The lamp shade also includes a tube inside which is closed on the top end and open on the bottom end. The electrical components of the lamp are contained inside the tube and, in turn, inside the lamp shade. The electrical components consist of a socket, a base, and an electrical supply means. The lamp shade rests in a base cap and is easily removed from the same for access to the electrical components. In one construction of this embodiment, the base cap incorporates a drainage hole in the bottom to allow accumulated water to drain out of the bottom of the base cap. In an alternate embodiment, the base cap does not have a drainage hole and the base and socket extend beyond the distal edge of the base cap.